Love K O'neill's work so much! This was such a lovely graphic novel. Couldn't put it down! Very quick and beautiful read that I Highly Recommend

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children’s for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. *sips a warm cup of tea and smiles* Where the books of the tea dragon society are best enjoyed with a warm cuppa tea in late summer/early autumn, The Moth Keeper is one of those books savored over a bowl of warm soup in the mid-winter/early spring when life that’s been dormant is beginning to burst forth.

Anya’s character is so relatable and brings a great message to humans of all ages and stages that you are worth far more than your perceived usefulness to society. Her anxiety is helped by mentors, kind strangers, and Estelle, who she’s known and played with since she was little. This book has wonderful representation for the neurodivergent and the Night Owls who operate better under the moonlight. The landscapes remind me of NZ and the southwest US and feel so cozy and comforting despite their sometimes treacherous nature.

The Moth Keeper is the story of a young creature trying to find their place in society. Anya has volunteered to be the new Moth Keeper, a very important job in her community. The Moth Keeper stays up all night and serves as a guiding light for the lunar moths, who pollinate the special Night Lily flower. The Night Lilies only bloom once a year, and they provide an important resource, one Anya is very proud to protect. But she is also curious about sunlight and the communities that live in the day. She sees the sunrise at the end of her night, and old memories and stories tug at her. Could she be happy in the day? What would that mean for the people she leaves behind?

I love the tea dragon society and was so happy to see the author had another book coming out. The designs and artistry are incredibly beautiful. The storyline is so precious and something I cannot wait to get a physical copy of.

I didn’t have time for this book when I was approved. I plan to read it in the future though. Looks fun!

I am obsessed with The Tea Dragon Society books, so I was ECSTATIC to see Kay O'Neill came out with a new graphic novel.

First of all, artwork is BEAUTIFUL as always. I could frame so many of these pages and literally use them as artwork.

The Moth Keeper is a lovely, earthy story about the night village, a community of people who choose to be nocturnal and live under the stars rather than the sun. Lots of the book is filled with the mythology and oral history of this community. This focus on world building made me hopeful that this has potential to maybe become a series in the future (?!), but if not I do think it was wrapped up nicely :)

My one complaint is a personal one and doesn't reflect negatively on the graphic novel at all. I don't ~love~ it when a book has a super clear moral. I find that when a lesson is being spelled out to me as the reader from the beginning, it takes me out of the story and reminds me that I should be "learning something" from the book instead of just immersing myself in the story. Obviously this is middle grade (so I am not the intended audience), and that is absolutely to be expected, so I don't think it should be any different. Just a personal preference.

Overall I loved this precious graphic novel and will continue to read anything this author creates.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review*

This was cute and heartwarming. This feels like a folktale, and the world felt believable. I loved the colors and how the moths seemed to glow on the page.

I appreciated the commentary on burnout and learning the importance of slowing down and ask for help.

The contrast between the night and day villages were great. I liked seeing that there were positives and negatives to both and how each saw the beauty in the other.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this.

The Moth Keeper is about two villages in the desert. One that follows a nocturnal lifestyle and the other that follows a diurnal lifestyle. Anya lives in the nocturnal village. She is training to be a moth keeper; which is a very important but lonely job in her community. We have The Giver vibes here. The land, the water, the roots, the plants, the flowers and all the people and animals rely on the pollen of the Night-Lily flower that blooms once a year. The moths are vital to this. 



Anya is singular and lonely but important to her community because of her position or task. She is young and susceptible to folly. One night the moths escape and Anya must decide if she truly is a moth keeper.



Kay O’Neill is a fresh voice. I would recommend anything they have written. It will be sure to stay with you long after you have finished the last page. Their work can be enjoyed by both children and adults.

K. O'Neill knows how to make even the quietest story so meaningful. A young girl works to find her place in her tribe as the new Moth Keeper which helps their healing planets to bloom. While she questions whether or not she's the right person for this job, she also comes across a wandering mystery related to the Spirit of the Moon.

I've loved every single book I've read by K O'Neill and The Moth Keeper is no exception! Gorgeous artwork that makes me want to just lay out under the stars (and really brings me back to the mountains of Aotearoa, also liked that note of inspiration in the back!).

The story pulled me in and is a wonderful tale as a reminder you're not alone, you have others to support you, and its okay to need a break and to need help. I think this is an important message I don't often see in books, and one that is really important for young people to have access to.

The world building is also lovely, I really enjoyed the moths. I don't think I've ever seen world building with moths kept by people (I wonder if it is done in our world at all?).

Overall, The Moth Keeper leaving me with the same warm fuzzy feeling as The Tea Dragon Society and the rest of their work.

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC of The Moth Keeper! This story was absolutely the most cozy, wholesome piece of artwork ever! I absolutely loved it so much!

As a huge fan of the Tea Dragon Society and Princess Princess Ever After, I knew I had to pick up Moth Keeper ASAP, and I'm so glad I did. Filled with the author's signature art style, I was captivated by the character design, the sweeping desert landscapes, and the overall story that felt so contemplative and profound. This low-stakes cozy fantasy emphasizes community, support, finding meaning and purpose, and the wonderful discoveries that are made along the path of life. Delightful yet poignant, I can't wait for the physical copy to be on my bookshelves! A huge thank you to Netgalley and Random House for a copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children's for this ARC.

When I first started reading this I didn't completely know what I was getting into. The main character Anya took on this position of The Moth Keeper, a very important position to their village, but why? Why was this important? What was the message? I started to understand about half way through. Anya felt the burden was her own and was struggling with being alone every night. The message of the story being that we are not meant to go through life alone was subtle but very strong. I really enjoyed how it was written and the art work is just amazing. I think this story is an important one for children to read because we're not meant to go through life alone. We need people, whether they are partners or just friends who become family. The caring nature of the village was wonderful to see, definitely at the end.

The Moth Keeper perfectly captures the serenity and melancholy of a moonlit night. O'Neill creates a vibrant, nocturnal community that works in harmony to maintain their desert village. The village depends on moths, granted to them by the moon spirit, which pollinate the tree that is central to their way of life. Each night the moths must be taken into the desert and then guided home before dawn; a job reserved for the moth keeper. The novel focuses on the village's next moth keeper, Kit, to tell a story about isolation, alienation, and belonging. O'Neill's nuanced characters and exquisite background illustrations ground the narrative, while the novel's fantasy elements help drive the story.

What a comforting warm blankie of a book. I appreciated the way difficult issues were presented and handled. Thank you for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

A beautiful and moving graphic novel, both in artwork but also in the story it tells. This is a story of community, but also isolation and burnout. It’s about found family, friendship, and learning to lean on others when you need to. This story softly squeezes your heart, but by the end you’re only a bit bruised. Bruised but healing. A wonderful and lovely read.

The Moth Keeper has all of K. O’Neill’s iconic hallmarks but is a truly original story. It’s set in a fantasy world with creatures who follow a nocturnal schedule and rely on moths to cultivate their life sustaining plants. One individual is responsible for caring for the moths, and this story is Anya’s journey to becoming the Moth Keeper. It’s visually stunning, the characters are diverse, and the storytelling is beautiful.

Anya's story of becoming her people's newest moth keeper is kind, cozy, and comfortably melancholy. The artwork is absolutely stunning, and the author did an immaculate job of creating a beautiful world with gentle, relatable characters.

If you like graphic novels and cozy reads, I strongly recommend this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this ARC.

Thank you Random House Graphic and NetGalley for the advanced electronic review copy of this great book. I enjoyed this beautiful story with exquisite art, great lessons, and some nostalgic feeling to it. Would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good story.

Anya begins her apprenticeship as the next Moth Keeper and becomes responsible for shepherding the moths that make the night flowers bloom. Her job, though essential for her community's survival in the desert, requires her to spend long, lonely nights alone and separated from her friends, and eventually, the toll it takes on her psyche causes her to make a mistake that could endanger everyone she loves.

O'Neill delivers another charming tale of a young girl finding her way, though "The Moth Keeper" is more mature and folkloric in tone than "The Tea Dragon Society" and "Aquicorn Cove". The illustrations are gorgeous as always and do a marvelous job of showing off the worldbuilding. The muted earth colors perfectly convey the desert-at-night setting, and the textured lines add a gritty element that mirrors the hardships in the characters' lives. The frequent textless panels underscore the solitary nature of Anya's job and her loneliness as she travels across the desert. The artwork, while definitely a high point, unfortunately does not make up for the lack of substance in the plot, and the emotional highs and lows of the story do not quite reach the reader. Anya's story does not reach a conclusion as much as it just sort of ends.

Nevertheless, I'm sure O'Neill's devotees will adore "The Moth Keeper". Give this to middle grade readers who like quiet, dreamy stories.